NEWS & ARTICLES

Last weekend I took the family to Whakapapa for a play in the snow and we struck a bluebird day! It was stunning, with blue skies and views to Mt Taranaki and beyond. What we didn’t strike lucky was the lengthy queues of people buying day passes. While there is plenty of technology on the mountain, it is still seriously lacking. Waiting in a queue for an hour and a half to buy a ski pass is incredibly disappointing. Through the use of digital mobile technology and payment systems utilising smartphones a more efficient user experience could easily be provided, for kiwis and tourists alike. It’s everyday experiences like this that remind me how important our vision is to create a prosperous nation underpinned by technology.

Last week, I also had the pleasure of meeting Tradle‘s David Diepbrink. Tradle is a global digital identity platform on Blockchain or KYC (know your customer). So, what exactly does this mean? It’s a total game changer for the digital storage of passports, drivers licenses and company documents, enabling you to easily share your details with governments and banks. Watch this space!

Meanwhile, I’m already looking forward to the Digital Nations conference in February, 2018. I can’t wait to share with you details of the international leaders and influencers who will be visiting New Zealand. There will be plenty of discussion on building digital nations by 2030, including the future of education, employment, health and finance. If you are interested in sponsorship of this exceptional event, please contact Nick Elias.

Following the recent release of Decoding Diversity, NZTech Women has a renewed focus of attracting more young women to tech. What I love most about this guide is the user friendly content with specific actions on how to attract and keep women in tech. Ahead of our next Developing Diversity event (invites coming soon), I would also like to encourage everyone to attend. We will explore diversity management strategies, closing the gender gap, flexible work practices and more. At our last event, we had a stellar turn out, but less than a dozen males. This isn’t a women only zone, so I would encourage men to attend. Learning how to empower women, isn’t solely the domain of women either. We need to work together to create diverse and inclusive workplaces.